"If you hold my hand any tighter, you'll cut off my circulation," Ishizu commented.
I loosened my grip on her hand, but refused to completely let go. I felt her fingers wrap gently around my own and felt a different sensation from the possessiveness I had felt a moment earlier.
As I walked hand-in-hand with her into the restaurant I knew that this 'business meeting' of mine would be plastered on the news. Thus far, the media had been having a field day with news of my attack at Kaiba Corporations, but was hushed from releasing information regarding Mokuba's attack over the weekend thanks to Pegasus' influence.
Pegasus. I closed my eyes as I remembered how his nonchalance had gotten to me earlier and sighed softly. I needed to deal with him for the Duel Monsters project at least. Beyond that, I decided, would need to wait for the moment.
Ishizu felt my sigh and squeezed my hand reassuringly. I was now thoroughly convinced she could read my mind. I needed to figure out the extent of her millennium item's abilities—not knowing was making me uneasy, and quite vulnerable to her attentions.
"Reservation for two, under Seto Kaiba," she said to the waiter at the desk. He nodded and indicated us to follow him.
"You made a reservation under my name?" I asked incredulously. Yes, there was no way this was escaping the media's attention now.
"It made it easier to secure the location I wanted," she responded. When we arrived at the location of her reservation, I understood. She had booked the VIP room, which not only was guaranteed complete privacy, but also had a spectacular view of Domino city at night.
"I'm impressed," I said, taking a seat. She smiled softly, a flicker of triumph still dancing in her eyes.
"I knew you would be," she replied. As we ordered drinks, I felt her steady gaze on me and was beginning to feel uncomfortably hot. I loosened my collar and turned to meet her gaze. I accept your challenge, I thought, leveling my gaze with hers.
"I presume this is private enough for you to discuss what you wanted to with me?" she asked, although she already knew the answer. Normally, I had seen her bound by her powers—following her visions without question, almost robotically. Tonight, she was enjoying her powers, and was using them to even toy with me. I felt a wry smile twist the corner of my lips.
"Glad to see that you're enjoying yourself as well, tonight," I mentioned, taking a sip of the whiskey I had ordered.
"Of course I enjoy my time with you," she said unflinchingly. I felt a blush creep up my face, and was cursing my physiology for being so damn obvious.
"So what it is that you like about me? My past self? Or my future self?" I asked.
"Everything—your past, your present, and your future. Your faults and your strengths…" she replied. I was definitely bright red now, if I wasn't already before. How could she be so direct? And the seriousness with which she answered me left me with no doubt that she was earnest with what she said.
And I felt a momentary guilt that I had asked her to meet with me only to get more information.
The guilt passed quickly as I felt the millennium key press against my skin. Mokuba. Muto. The attack by Marik. I had reason enough to be using her—and if she were already this attached to me, perhaps it would be easier than I thought.
"So, ask away," she remarked, after turning away from the Domino city skyline she had been gazing at with an expression I could not read. I cleared my throat and decided to get down to business.
"Your millennium item—what are its abilities?" I asked.
"The powers of my millennium item are two-fold. I can use it to see events through time, whether it be in the past or future, and can also use it to create a shield," she replied.
"When you say events through time, are you constrained to a certain time frame?" I asked.
"When I use my millennium item, I am flooding with images of potential futures, similar to the flood of memories you experience when you use the millennium key. Like you, I need to focus my attention in order to make sense of what I am seeing," she explained.
"I see. And your attention comes from?"
"Generally, I focus on people, since that is the easiest feeling to grasp. Anything pertaining to you is quite easy for me to focus on, allowing me to have a greater breath of time that I can see."
I frowned. This was not helping me at all. Basically her 'attachment' to me was also my weakness—it allowed her to probe into my past and future, allowing her to know me perhaps even better than I would know myself. I paused as the waiter walked in with our appetizers, realizing that I had no appetite whatsoever. I picked up a slice of bread and buttered it with no intention to eat at all.
"And this applies to your brother as well?" I asked.
"Yes and no. While he is the closest relative to me, and I can focus on him quite easily, he has also learned to block my probing, allowing me to see only into the immediate future for him," she replied.
"Convenient," I muttered. I felt another current of doubt. She could easily be saying that she was limited in her ability to see her brother's future in order to ease any suspicions I had of her protecting her brother while ripping my weaknesses apart…
"If you truly doubt me, I will allow you to see for yourself," she said, removing the millennium necklace.
She held it out to me, and I felt the millennium key pulsate uncomfortably, as if urging me to take the other millennium item.
I remembered her warning from earlier: 'If you are prepared to have the burden of being bound by the vision of the future as I am, then by all means…'
And I realized that I as much as I wanted the information about the future—especially Marik's future plans—I couldn't reach out for the millennium necklace. Was I afraid of learning my own future? How stupid and pathetic of me. I clenched my fist and looked away to the Domino skyline, trying to calm the sudden anger that had filled me thanks to my hesitation.
"It is human to fear knowledge of one's own future," Ishizu said softly, returning the millennium necklace to her bare neck.
"I don't have the luxury of being human," I retorted bitterly.
When I turned to face her, I was shocked to see that my statement had twisted her face into a combination of pain, pity and frustration. When she caught my questioning gaze, she settled back into her calm mien.
"No, I will be the one to protect your humanity," she said, fierce determination lighting up her eyes. And I knew then that as much as she wanted to be her brother's protector, she was every bit truly my protector—and that it was tearing her apart.
"Ishizu, you have no need to…" I began when she interrupted me.
"Since my family's tragedy, the first thing I've truly wanted to do—not just because it was something I had foreseen—was protect you and your happiness," she responded. I watched her speechless. I had no answer for her sudden confession.
"There's no need for you to suffer any further," I said, my hand finding hers, "Help me defeat Marik."